The narrative of Martha is Dead centers around twin sisters, Martha and Giulia, living in Italy during World War II. The story begins when Giulia discovers Martha deceased in the water. Upon bringing the body to the beach, she encounters her parents, who mistakenly identify the deceased as Giulia. In a state of shock, and to avoid further distress to her parents, Giulia assumes the identity of her now-deceased and deaf sister, Martha. As Giulia, the player is tasked with solving the mystery of Martha’s murder and uncovering the truth behind her death. In a world where Giulia is perceived as deaf, hidden secrets begin to surface.
The Italian-developed game, Martha is Dead, garnered significant attention upon its release, largely due to Sony Entertainment’s decision to censor certain sequences. The censored content appears early in the game and contains what some consider particularly graphic content. While the censorship sparked debate, it also amplified the game’s visibility. The sequence in question occurs within a nightmare, which some argue diminishes the justification for its removal. Update: We have not tested the Playstation version, and we have not received confirmation that the censorship can be disabled. We appreciate our readers, specifically Alexander on social media, for informing us that the Playstation version does offer the option to disable censorship. This contrasts with titles like South Park: The Stick of Truth, where such an option was absent.
Martha is Dead is a psychological horror title presented from a first-person perspective. Players navigate detailed and aesthetically pleasing environments. However, a noticeable drop in texture resolution occurs upon close inspection of objects. While this is functional, the reduction in fidelity becomes apparent when interacting with items or examining artwork, contrasting with the visual standards of many modern games. Interactive elements are highlighted when viewed, but the controls can occasionally feel imprecise, making activation inconsistent. This suggests the game’s control scheme may be better suited for mouse and keyboard input than gamepad.
Martha is Dead offers multiple language options. Upon initial launch, the game defaulted to Italian with English subtitles. The subtitles exhibited a noticeable lag, prompting a switch to English voice acting. The quality of the voice acting is inconsistent; in certain instances, the performances feel unconvincing, potentially due to actors being tasked with material beyond their skill level.
Testing of Martha is Dead was conducted on an Xbox One X console. Despite the presence of an SSD, loading times were excessively long, at times leading to the assumption that the game had crashed. Once loaded, the game performed adequately, but environment transitions were consistently hampered by lengthy loading sequences.
Martha is Dead presents a compelling narrative and a consistently immersive atmosphere. However, the protracted loading times and somewhat unwieldy controls detract from the overall experience, preventing a full recommendation.
Wired Productions provided review copies for this assessment. The provision of materials does not influence our editorial independence. Our reviews are conducted independently, with a focus on providing accurate information for our readers and consumers.
